論大觀園的空間文化－－以屋舍、方位、席次為中心

Houses, Orientations, and Seat Allocations: A New Interpretation of the Spatial Culture in the Dream of the Red Chamber

本文從大觀園的建築布局，與宴飲集會等人際活動中對方位、席次的安排，深入分析其中各種「人為場所」所蘊含的文化意義，由此探測到其空間組織形式中禮制與人情對比而共生的複雜表述。本研究的成果顯示，不同於榮寧府宅此種彰顯禮制的宇宙式建築，以及宴飲集會等儀式場合的方位、席次上，主要以東／西、上／下的空間語彙體現尊卑差序的倫理意涵，在大觀園所屬的浪漫式場所中，則主要是煥發著親密的、田園的、且志在「表現」的本質，因此人與住屋互為表徵，具備了活潑而動態之特性，尤其是從「距離與座向」呈現個性化取向；但倫理等差的空間政治依然滲透其間，透過大／小、裏／外、三／五間數的對比，隱喻了園中世界的君父制約與階序結構，從根本上提供了維繫浪漫精神不可或缺的必要基礎。而大觀園之最終崩潰的真正原因，實乃其內部倫理結構的鬆動無以維繫，再加上大自然的不可抗力所致，這也正是全書「二元襯補」思想的另一展現。

This article closely analyzes the arrangement of architecture in Daguan Garden 大觀園 and the position and seating allocation for the collective activities that take place in the mansions, to reveal the cultural meanings implied in these man-made spaces. The architectural arrangement in Daguan Garden is different from that in the Rong 榮 and Ning 寧 mansions, where the seating allocations of the various kinds of meetings mainly reflect rank (noble/base) and blood relationship (close/distant), through the differentiation of east/west and high/low orientations. By contrast, the romantic space of Daguan Garden radiates an intimate, pastoral, expressive quality. Nevertheless, the patriarchal clan system and etiquette still intervenes, embodied in, say, the size and number of rooms. Thus, the spatial organization in the Dream of the Red Chamber tells a complex narrative of etiquette and human favors. This spatial metaphor expresses once again the idea of “complementary opposites” that runs through the whole of the Dream of the Red Chamber.